Baystate Children’s Hospital to display Remembrance Quilts

SPRINGFIELD – The public is invited to attend the Baystate Children’s Hospital annual exhibit of memorial quilts crafted at its yearly Service of Remembrance.
The event will take place on Sept. 28 and 29 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the hospital’s Chestnut Building/Conference Center, Rooms 1A & B, 759 Chestnut St.
“This is a very moving display of powerful remembrances made with love by the families of children who have lost their lives to illness or accident,” Marjorie Bloom, LICSW, social worker from the Hospital Care Management Department at Baystate Medical Center, said. “We often receive requests from families who attended past services to view the quilts again.”
The Service of Remembrance, most recently presented this April, includes readings and music and is open to all family members and their friends, as well as hospital staff, who remember and pay tribute to the children who were under their care.
During each service, families are given a small piece of fabric which they personalize in remembrance of their child before it is added along with others to create a “Tapestry of Memories” quilt. Quilts from 1998 through 2013 will be shown at this year’s quilt display.
The exhibit is funded by the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, which raises funds for 170 children’s hospitals across North America, including Baystate Children’s Hospital where all funds remain local.
Baystate Children’s Hospital offers the following support groups for families who have experienced the death of a child: Compassionate Friends Support Group, for families grieving the loss of a child, third Wednesday of each month, 7 to 9 p.m., 3300 Main St., first floor, community room, and SHARE, for parents who have lost a child through miscarriage, stillbirth or infant death, second Wednesday of each month, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., 3300 Main St., first floor, community room.
For more information about the exhibit or support groups, contact Bloom 794-5559. For more information on Baystate Children’s Hospital, visit http://baystatehealth.org/Baystate.